​Police back down on ‘pay-to-protest’ demand, but right to assembly still at risk – activists

UK authorities who insisted activists spend thousands of pounds on a private security firm to steward a peaceful climate change march in London have backed down following intense pressure. Campaigners insist they will not “pay to protest.”

Last month, Britain’s
Campaign Against Climate Change (CACC) was instructed to hire a
private security company to monitor its Time to Act demonstration
scheduled for early March.

The request came as Scotland Yard refused to oversee the
temporary closure of streets along the group’s agreed route
through central London.

Met backs down a little on pay-to-protest issue, but it's still
there, rumbling in the background. Authoritarianism… http://t.co/vORnZaw0Md

The Met’s government-backed demand provoked outrage, as
campaigners, politicians and trade unionists warned the move
signaled the privatization of citizens’ right to protest. Others
feared the demonstration would simply not go ahead.

However, intense lobbying by human rights group Liberty, the CACC
and campaigners nationwide has forced Scotland Yard to make a
U-turn and back down.

The body confirmed Friday it will take measures to facilitate
CACC's protest on March 7.

CACC said it is relieved by the news, and hugely grateful for the
support it has received in recent weeks. It said, however, that
Scotland Yard’s policy change caused it undue stress.

A spokeswoman for the campaign said: “Now we can focus on
making our protest a really powerful message to those in power
about the urgency of the climate crisis, an event bringing
together families, faith groups, trade unions and all parts of
society.”

She added that CACC also hopes the future fate of Britons’ right
to protest remains intact.

Liberty’s legal director, James Welch, who supported CACC in
challenging the Met’s demand, said UK authorities should never
have forced CACC to jump through such a series of futile hoops.

“When the public wish to exercise their fundamental right to
protest, police, councils and traffic authorities should be
saying ‘let’s make it happen’ – not asking ‘how can we do as
little as possible?’” he said.